The Orlando Magic and their fans enjoyed their victory Thursday night over the Detroit Pistons. But the evening also could have been a reminder that the Magic bungled one of their key personnel decisions of the past few years.

Former Magic forward Tobias Harris, a mainstay in the Pistons’ starting lineup, is averaging a career-high 18.2 points per game and is shooting a career-high 44.9 percent from beyond the arc. Harris has helped the Pistons sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings, and his overall play might earn him his first All-Star selection.

Harris’ development must feel like a smack in the face to Magic fans. In February 2016, the Magic traded Harris to the Pistons for Ersan Ilyasova and Brandon Jennings, who both played poorly after the trade and weren’t even on the Magic’s roster the following season.

The trade allowed the Magic to unload Harris’ average annual salary of $16 million, created additional cap space for the 2016 free-agent market and opened playing time for Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier and Mario Hezonja. Gordon and Fournier no doubt benefitted from the trade.

But at the same time, the Magic didn’t receive equal or better value when they exchanged Harris for Ilyasova and Jennings. And worse, the deal signaled the start of a new, less patient phase of the Magic’s rebuild. A few months later, the team parted with another member of its young nucleus, guard Victor Oladipo, trading him Ilyasova and the draft rights to Domantas Sabonis to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Serge Ibaka.

Like Harris, Oladipo has emerged as an All-Star candidate this season, leaving Magic fans to wonder, “What if?”

In this postgame video, Frank Vogel discusses the Orlando Magic's 102-89 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

In this postgame video, Frank Vogel discusses the Orlando Magic's 102-89 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

What if the Magic had remained patient with their rebuild and kept Harris, Oladipo, Gordon, Fournier and Elfrid Payton together? How could the Magic be any worse off with that core intact than they are now, holding a 12-24 record and burdened by Bismack Biyombo’s contract?

Harris isn’t convinced the Magic would be better off if the team had kept him and Oladipo.

“Obviously, we had a lot of talent here,” Harris said. “But obviously, when we were here, we were at different stages in our careers. I’m happy for what Victor’s doing; he’s playing phenomenal. Everybody who was here [is]. Dewayne Dedmon’s playing well — last year in San Antonio and now in Atlanta. So we had really good guys here, good talent.

“But sometimes you blossom in different places. There was a lot of good talent here, but with that being said, there was a lot of guys that may not have been the best fit together. Especially with time, too, we were all really fighting for status in the NBA, status in the league. So that also can affect a team, too.”

To be sure, the Magic were a mess during Harris’ and Oladipo’s tenures, never coming close to the playoffs. It’s easy to forget now, but Harris, Oladipo and Gordon were subpar or awful long-range shooters, and when paired with Payton, another struggling shooter, the team’s lack of floor spacing hampered the entire offense.

Indeed, there were questions whether Harris or Oladipo could ever sustain an All-Star level of play. Even last season, Harris’ 3-point shooting dipped to 34.7 percent, while Oladipo shot just 36.1 percent from deep.

In this postgame video, Aaron Gordon discusses the Orlando Magic's 102-89 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

In this postgame video, Aaron Gordon discusses the Orlando Magic's 102-89 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

“We knew he was a worker and a guy who cared a great deal about his game and getting better,” said Pistons coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy. “He really dedicated himself this summer to shooting the 3 and to working on it. He shot thousands and thousands and thousands of them, so he’s gotten a lot of confidence.

“You’ve seen that [3-point shooting growth] across the league with [power forwards] and [centers], guys who’ve spent a lot of time on [their shooting]. Aaron Gordon’s done it here. It’s almost a necessity at the [power forward] spot now.”

Questions still remain about Harris’ overall game, especially whether he can ever become an asset on defense.

Still, his improvement and Oladipo’s improvement are tough for Magic fans to watch.

On Nov. 27, the Magic lost their ninth consecutive game, falling to Oladipo’s Indiana Pacers 121-109 as Oladipo made his first 11 shots and scored a game-high 26 points to go along with his six rebounds, five assists and four blocks.

That same night, Harris scored 31 points as the Pistons defeated the Boston Celtics 118-108.

jrobbins@orlandosentinel.com. Read his blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/magicblog and follow him on Twitter at @JoshuaBRobbins.